Critic Reviews

Despite the disappointing nature of the network support in Lemmings Paintball, it is still a highly addictive single player problem-solving game. In addition, Psygnosis has been clever enough to include a Windows 95 update of the original Lemmings (plus the add-on levels). This update is simply superb and I can no longer complain about the performance of Lemmings on a PC. The save game feature on the update is especially nice, so much better than entering in those long, painful codes. One wonders why they stuck with the codes for Lemmings Paintball. The best version of Lemmings is still the original on the Amiga, but I would have to count this Windows 95 update as the next best thing.

Despite these little hitches, LEMMINGS PAINTBALL gets my vote as a winner. The user-friendly interface and easy lower levels make it a great game for beginners, but the higher levels remain difficult and varied enough to maintain the interest of diehard lemmings fans. And as Psygnosis is including the original LEMMINGS and OH NO, MORE LEMMINGS on the disc, you get three games for the price of one. Now, a bargain like that doesn't come along every day.

And so, like its predecessors, Lemmings Paintball! is an addicting game. Struggling to complete just one more level before leaving for your Presidential Inauguration, or your dinner with the Queen, will become commonplace to the player of this game. If only real lemmings were this fun...

Personally, I have no problem with adding more action to the Lemmings universe. I like this combination of cuteness and carnage. Of course, it's not real carnage, is it? It's just paintballs, not live ammo. Who could object to that? You can imagine that discussion took place more than once at Psygnosis headquarters during the design phase. But the fact of the matter is, there's no gameplay difference at all between this and a similar game with shotguns and red blobs appearing on chests instead of yellow ones. Many Lemmings fans have followed the series precisely because of the lack of this sort of graphically violent play and Psygnosis risks offending Lemmings purists (if such a creature exists). If you fall into this category, purchase this game at your own risk. But if you've been staying away from the Lemmings series because it all seemed a bit too, well, precious, you might get a real kick out of Lemmings Paintball.

Again, although veteran Lemmings-heads will probably derive some satisfaction from Lemmings Paintball, the title's bizarre gameplay makes it hard to compare this game to its predecessors. Hopefully, the next installment in the Lemmings infinology will contain some of the craftiness of the original Lemmings. Perhaps a Lemmings-Doom clone is in order. Can you picture lemmings in body armor?